Enter the dragon - East Asia and Pacific: Chronicle 2002

New Internationalist, Jan-Feb, 2003 by Rowan Callick

OCTOBER

INDONESIA The bombing of a Bali nightclub kills almost 200 people, mostly Western tourists. Extremists linked to al-Qaeda are suspected.

NOVEMBER

CHINA President Jiang Zemin surrenders the leadership of the Communist Party to his deputy, Hu Jintao. Within minutes it is announced that Jiang will remain head of the party's military commission and thus ultimately in charge.

NORTH KOREA The country admits on state radio that it has developed nuclear weapons.

DECEMBER

INDONESIA/ACEH The Indonesian Government and separatist rebels sign a compromise deal in Geneva to bring peace to the northern province of Aceh. In return for autonomy and free elections -- but not independence -- the rebels are to disarm.

SOUTH KOREA President Kim DaeJung, a Nobel Peace Laureate, stands down having rejuvenated the country's economy. He leaves behind his own high hopes for 'sunshine diplomacy': the reunion of the two Koreas. Human rights lawyer Roh Moo-Hyun is the new President-elect, vowing to build better relations with North Korea.

NORTH KOREA accuses the US of 'deliberate military provocation' over its stopping of a cargo ship containing 15 scud missiles. North Korea cranks up its nuclear activities and decides to expel UN nuclear inspectors.

SOLOMON ISLANDS Cyclone Zoe wreaks devastation on three outlying islands of the nation.

Rowan Callick is the Asia-Pacific editor of The Australian Financial Review in Australia.